Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi

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Muslim scholar
Name: Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi
Birth: September 25 1903
Death: September 22 1979
School/tradition: Sunni
Influences: Ibn Taimiyyah, Ghazzali, Ibn Kathir, Shah Waliullah
Influenced: Jamaat-e-Islami, Muslim Brotherhood and other Muslim movements, ICNA, ISNA,The Islamic Foundation, UK Islamic Mission

Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi (Urdu: سيد ابو الاعلى مودودی, Arabic: سيد أبو الأعلى المودودي; alternative spellings of first and last names: Syed, Maudoodi, and Mawdudi; often referred to as Maulana Maududi and Imam Maududi) (September 25, 1903 – September 22, 1979)[1] is one of the most influential Islamic Lawyers of the 20th century and the founder of extremist Jamaat-e-Islami (The Islamic Party). Maududi's philosophy, literature, and activism contributed to the development of Islamic movements around the world. Maududi's ideas influenced Sayyid Qutb of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, another leading Muslim scholar of the time. Maududi, along with Qutb, is considered by some[attribution needed] to be one of the founding fathers of the global Islamic revivalist movements.

Contents

[edit] Ancestry

Maududi was born on 25 September 1903 (Rajab 3, 1321 AH) in Aurangabad city of Hyderabad (now Maharashtra) state, India as the youngest of three sons of the lawyer Ahmad Hasan Maududi.

He was allegedly a descendent of Muhammad[citation needed], Prophet of Islam, but claims are unfounded. The family had a long-standing tradition of spiritual leadership[citation needed] and a number of Maududi’s ancestors were leaders of Sufi Orders, including Khawajah Qutb al-Din Maudud, renowned leader of the Chishti Sufi Order in the 12th century CE[citation needed]. At the end of the 15th century CE, Maududi's ancestors left Chisht and moved to the India. The first one to arrive was Maududi's namesake, Abul Ala Maududi.[citation needed]

[edit] Early life

Maududi was home-schooled before attending Madrasah Furqaniyah, a famous high school in Hyderabad. He attended college at Darul Uloom in Hyderabad but withdrew when his father became terminally ill. He knew enough Arabic, Persian, English, and his native tongue Urdu to continue his studies independently.[citation needed]

In 1918, at the age of 15, he began working as a journalist for a leading Urdu newspaper to support himself, and in 1920, he was appointed editor of Taj, published in Jabalpur city in what is now Madhya Pradesh state, India. By 1921, Maulana Maududi moved to Delhi to work as editor for the Muslim newspaper), and later for al-Jam’iyat), publications by the Jam’iyat-i ‘Ulama-i Hind, a political organization of Muslim scholars mainly associated with Deoband. Under Maulana Maududi’s editorial leadership, al-Jam’iyat became the leading newspaper for South Asian Muslims.[citation needed]

Maududi participated in the Khilafat Movement and Tahrik-e Hijrat, South Asian Muslims organizations opposed to British colonial occupation. He urged India's Muslims to migrate en masse to Afghanistan to escape the British rule. During this period, Maulana Maududi began translating books from Arabic and English to Urdu. He also authored his first major book, al-Jihad fi al-Islam ("Jihad in Islam") - a treatise on the Islamic law of war and peace published serially in al-Jam’iyat in 1927 and as a book in 1930 - which was acclaimed by the famous poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal and Muhammad Ali Jouhar, the leader of the Khilafat Movement, and is still considered one of Maududi’s literary masterpieces.

In 1933, Maududi became editor of the monthly Tarjuman al-Qur'an ("Interpreter of the Qur'an"). He wrote extensively about Islam and, in particular, the conflict between Islam and external forces of imperialism. He interpreted Islamic solutions and presented an Islamic perspective to the everyday problems faced by Muslims under British rule, on the problems of Western military domination over South Asia and on the influences of Western culture on Islamic society.

Together with Muhammad Iqbal, Maududi established an academic center named Darul-Islam in Pathankot city of Punjab province. The goal of the academy was to train scholars in the political philosophy of Islam. Maulana Maududi developed a highly critical perspective of Western concepts, such as nationalism, pluralism and feminism, which he viewed as imperialist tools to undermine non-Western societies and enforce Western domination over the lives of Muslims. He proposed that the Muslim world should purge itself of foreign elements and wage jihad ("struggle") until all of humanity was united under Islamic rule[citation needed]. He translated the Qur'an into Urdu and wrote prolifically on numerous aspects of Islamic law and culture.

[edit] Research and writings

After his resignation from al-Jam’iyat in 1928, Maududi moved to Hyderabad and devoted himself to research and writing. It was in this connection that he took up the editorship of the monthly Tarjuman al-Qur’an in 1933, which since then has been the main vehicle for the dissemination of Maududi’s ideas. He proved to be a highly prolific writer, turning out several scores of pages every month.

In the mid ’30s, Maududi started writing on political and cultural issues concerning Indian Muslims, reserving some of his harshest criticism for nationalism, which, he held, eroded Muslims' Islamic identity.[citation needed]

Allama Muhammad Iqbal invited and persuaded him to leave Hyderabad and settle down at a place in the Eastern part of Punjab, in the district of Pathankot. Maududi established what was essentially an academic and research centre called Darul-Islam where, in collaboration with Allama Iqbal, he planned to train Islamic scholars.

[edit] Political Involvement

Around the year 1940, Maududi developed ideas regarding the founding of a more comprehensive and ambitious movement and this led him to launch a new organisation under the name of the Jamaat-e-Islami. Maududi was elected Jamaat’s first Emir and remained so till 1972 when he withdrew from the responsibility for reasons of health.

Maududi was skeptical of the creation of Pakistan[citation needed]. He believed that such a state, once created, would tend to follow the nationalistic model, and would consequently not be able to enforce the principles of Islam. After the creation of Pakistan, he moved to Pakistan and began working towards his goal of creating an Islamic state and society. He relentlessly criticized the secular policies of the nascent state and criticized Pakistani leaders for failing to create an Islamic political order. His efforts, combined with those of many other religious scholars and activists, were a major factor[citation needed] in the adoption of the Objectives Resolution in 1949 by the Constitutional Assembly. The Objectives Resolution defines Pakistan as an Islamic state based in the principles of the Qur'an and Sunnah.

[edit] Political struggle and legal problems

After migrating to Pakistan in August 1947, Maududi concentrated his efforts on establishing an Islamic state and society in the country. He criticised successive governments for failing to transform Pakistan into an Islamic state, and was often arrested to face long spells in prison.[citation needed]

In 1953, when he was sentenced to death by the martial law authorities on the charge of writing a seditious pamphlet on the Qadiani problem, he declined the opportunity to file a petition for mercy, saying "If the time of my death has come, no one can keep me from it; and if it has not come, they cannot send me to the gallows even if they hang themselves upside down in trying to do so." His family also declined to make any appeal for mercy. The government, under strong public pressure both from within and without, commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment and then canceled it.[citation needed]

[edit] Travels and journeys abroad

The several journeys which Maududi undertook during the years 1956-74 enabled Muslims in many parts of the world to become acquainted with him personally and appreciate many of his qualities. At the same time, these journeys were educative for Maududi himself as well as they provided to him the opportunity to gain a great deal of first-hand knowledge of the facts of life and to get acquainted with a large number of persons in different parts of the world. During these numerous tours, he lectured in Cairo, Damascus, Amman, Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, Kuwait, Rabat, Istanbul, London, New York, Toronto and at a host of international centers. During these years, he also participated in some 10 international conferences. He also made a study tour of Saudi Arabia, Jordan (including Jerusalem), Syria and Egypt in 1959-60 in order to study the geographical aspects of the places mentioned in the Qur’an. He was also invited to serve on the Advisory Committee which prepared the scheme for the establishment of the Islamic University of Madinah and was on its Academic Council ever since the inception of the University in 1962.[citation needed]

He was also a member of the Foundation Committee of the Rabitah al-Alam al-Islami, Mecca, and of the Academy of Research on Islamic Law, Medina.[citation needed]

[edit] His Last Days

In April 1979, Maududi’s long-time kidney ailment worsened and by then he also had heart problems. He went to the United States for treatment and was hospitalized in Buffalo, New York, where his second son worked as a physician. Even at Buffalo, his time was intellectually productive. He spent many hours reviewing Western works on the life of Muhammad and meeting with Muslim leaders, their followers and well-wishers.

Following a few surgical operations, he died on September 22, 1979 at the age of 76. His funeral was held in Buffalo, but he was buried in an unmarked grave at his residence (Ichra) in Lahore after a very large funeral procession through the city.

[edit] Philosophy

An Urdu Satatement from Rudad
An Urdu Satatement from Rudad

Maududi has advocated a number of positions:[citation needed]

  • He developed further the concept of Shah Waliullah, that Islam ís a complete, closed system and the only universal civilization. On this basis that Maududi distinguishes between Islam and Jahiliya (ignorance).
  • He believed that Jihad is a permanent revolutionary strategy and not merely a defensive war for national liberation.[citation needed]

[edit] Political and Social

Maududi's goal was to make Islam the supreme organizing principle for the social and political life of the Muslims. The primary concept that he propounded was Iqamat-i-Din, literally "the establishment of religion." According to this principle, the society and the state are totally subordinate to the authority of Islamic law as revealed in the Qur'an and practiced by Prophet Muhammad. This concept is one of the main reasons why he opposed the partition of India and the creation of a nationalistic Pakistan. He believed that the creation of Pakistan would cause the citizens of Pakistan to put the interest of the state above those of Islam.

Maududi interpreted religion to be the central frame of reference for all human activity. He did not believe that religion was simply a private choice but an ideology to be promoted and put into practice. He believed that religion must be manifest in all social, economic, and political spheres of society. In Islamic societies, this meant that Shari'a should be the law of the land for all citizens, replacing non-Islamic civil and criminal law.

Maududi believed that the entire course of Islamic history has been a continuous struggle between Islam and different brands of ignorance. In his view, Islam was not guaranteed victory in every battle, but would eventually triumph over ignorance, if Muslims were true to their religion. According to his vision, the construction of an Islamic state originates from within pious individuals who transform society from within. First, Islam spurs individual transformation; then pious Muslims develop communities of faith. These communities, in turn, form ideological movements that generate peaceful social change. The end result is an Islamic society and true Islamic state based on the will of the people.

He says "Islamic State is Universal and All Embracing. A state of this sort cannot evidently restrict the scope of its activities. Its approach is universal and all-embracing. Its sphere of activity is coextensive with the whole of human life. It seeks to mould every aspect of life and activity in consonance with its moral norms and programme of social reform. In such a state no one can regard any field of his affairs as personal and private. Considered from this aspect the Islamic State bears a kind of resemblance to the Fascist and Communist states." - Mawdudi, Islamic Law and Constitution

[edit] Economic

Maududi wrote extensively on issues related to Islamic finance, consumption, production, and exchange, but he never employed economic methodology. His work on economics was strictly within the epistemic traditions of Kalam (argumentation) and Fiqh (jurisprudence). As a reading of Tanqihat (Explications), Insan ka Ma’ashi Masa’la aur uska Islami Hal (Human Economic Problems and their Islamic Solution), and Sud (Interest) shows, Maulana Maududi was familiar with both neo-classical and Keynesian methodologies. His refusal to use these methodologies in his analysis of production, exchange, and business cycles arises from his principled rejection of capitalist epistemology and of the capitalist way of life.[citation needed]

According to Maududi, Capitalism is based on the idea of infiniteness of wants. However, men are not now – nor have they ever been – naturally profit-motivated or utility-maximizing. Capitalism deliberately promotes the vices of avarice and covetousness to universalize profit and utility maximizing behavior. To accept such behavior as natural is to misunderstand the epistemological status of economics (and political economy). Economics is not a science, but rather the religion of capitalism based on the doctrine of the infiniteness of wants. Maududi developed his critique of capitalism on a rejection of this doctrine. In his Insan Ka Ma’ashe Masala aur uska Islami Hal (first published in 1941), Maududi argued that limiting human wants is necessary for the promotion of the Islamic way of life and of Islamic virtues such as faqr (barely having anything), zuhd (simplicity), istighna (contentment) and infaq (charity). Unlike the apologists, Maulana Maududi insists that Islam is a fully articulated economic system intrinsically incompatible with capitalism (Maududi 1941 p.17-31, 42-60).

[edit] Literary achievements and Awards

Maududi wrote more than 120 books and pamphlets and delivered over 1000 speeches, of which 700 were recorded for wider distribution. He is most well-known for his Qur'anic exegesis (Tafsir); his treatment of ethics, sociology, and politics in an Islamic context; and his discussion of the Islamic revivalist movement. His monumental Urdu analysis of the Qur'an, Tafhīm al-Qur’ān (Urdu: تفھیم القرآن, commonly translated as "Towards Understanding the Qur'an"), took 30 years to complete and is considered to be one of the prime contemporary explanations of the Qur'an [1]. It explicates the relevance of Qur'an as a guide to dealing with all matters of life at both individual and social levels. Tafhim al-Qur'an has been translated into various languages including Arabic, English, Turkish, Persian, Hindi, French, German, Swahili, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada, and is continuously being translated into a wider variety of languages.

Maududi was awarded the first King Faisal Foundation Prize in 1979 for his services to Islam. He is the first person to be awarded such a prize.

[edit] Shi'a view

Shi'a generally hold a more positive view on Maududi's work, despite his Sunni background, as Maududi was concentrated more on issues of politics than on theology.[citation needed] Maududi interpreted Islam as a political ideology, often ignoring theological differences in favour of political unity. This was in great contrast to, for example, Ibn Taymiya, a traditional Sunni theologian who was virulently opposed to Shi'a theology. Maududi also issued a fatwah according to which a Sunni can pray after a Shi'a imam and vice versa.

The rift with the Ahmadi Muslims was also more to do with matters political than theological.

"Maulana Maududi, a refugee from India, had no constituency in Pakistan so he had to create one. The campaign to declare the Ahmadis as ‘non-Muslim’ gave him his chance. Anti-Ahmadiyya riot swept across Pakistani Punjab. Pakistan, created in the name of Islam, was besmirched within six years of its creation with Muslim blood shed by fellow Muslims. Rioting was particularly severe in Lahore that resulted in the imposition of Martial Law in the city. That was also the beginning of the inroad of military in Pakistan politics. "

http://www.thedailystar.net/suppliments/2005/indp2005/indp03.htm

[edit] Criticisms

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Maududi has been controversial. Criticism has come both from secularists and from within the traditional Islamic religious establishment.

  • Some Ulema who were involved in the founding of the Jama`at-e Islami left shortly afterwards in protest against Maududi's policies and leadership style. Both Barelwi and Deobandi accused Maududi of misinterpretating Islam.A Letter to a Pious Friend
  • His critics, especially ulema of the Deoband and Lucknow schools, say that his lack of training in theological discipline was his great weakness. Sayyid Muhammad Madani Ashrafi, representing criticism from the Barelvi side, authored a series of books on Maududi's misunderstanding and abuse of traditional Islamic terminology. Shaikh Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhalwi, the late hadith scholar and influential figure in the Tablighi Jama`at, was foremost amongst Deobandi critics of Madudi. Both authors concur that Maududi's self-education led him to develop a distorted understanding of Islam. They claim Maududi and his movement urge Muslims to take up religious rituals (prayer, etc.) in order to prepare for acquiring state power, whereas other scholars hold that the rituals of Islam are the purpose of life and state power a means to establishing the worship of Allah. The critics also criticized him as having "no control over his pen and an unlimited sense of his own importance" as well as for denigrating traditional ulama and sufis and for defaming prophets Muhammad's companions in his writings.
  • Maududi has been seem by some as a key source of the extremism which caused the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, and the passage of blasphemy and Hudood laws that have led to many human-rights violations being committed against religious minorities and women.

[edit] Opposition to Pakistan and Kashmir Causes

Quoted by Sardar Shaukat Hayat in his book ‘The Nation that lost it soul’:

"I conveyed the message of Quaid Azem to him [Maudoodi ed.] requesting him to pray as well as support Pakistan’s cause. Moulana replied: “How could he pray for “NA - PAKISTAN” (unclean Pakistan) ... Later the same Moulana beseeched for my help as I was a Minister in Panjab cabinet to rescue him from non Muslims of the area which task was performed by sending Pakistani troops. On reaching Pakistan, he issued an edict (Fatwa) against the “Mujahids” (fighters involved in Kashmir war) involved in Kashmir’s Jihad, saying that they would not be martyrs but would be dying the death of a dog because no Islamic State had declared Jihad."

[edit] Oppostion to and persecution of Ahmadis

1. ... Way back in 1953, the Jamaat-e-Islami under Abul A’la Maudoodi created mayhem in Lahore, so much so that blood flowed along the streets of the city. And it would not stop until General Azam Khan came along. In those days of Jamaat initiation into the politics of violence, the targets were men of unimpeachable integrity like Sir Zafrullah Khan [an ahmadi ed.]. No, no one wanted to have his tongue cut out or have his body turned into mincemeat. But he had to be pushed out of Islam because he swore by the Ahmadiyya version of faith. In the years since then, Maudoodi’s followers have come a long way. Some of the best moments of their lives came in 1971 when Golam Azam swiftly made it a point, per courtesy of the Pakistani genocide, to offer assistance to Tikka Khan in the matter of doing away with the miscreants out to destroy Islam and Pakistan in these parts. The miscreants, of course, were seventy-five million Bengalis whose very simple wish was to assert themselves in the politics of their own land. http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/08/30/d60830020327.htm


2. ... The Punjab elections of 1951 had, no doubt, brought Mian Mumtaz Daultana into power, but that didn’t solve his endemic problem. One of his deferred dreams had been to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. This could happen only if somehow he could manage to bring down the Federal Government. Ch. Zafarullah Khan, an Ahmedi, in the Federal Cabinet thus was chosen as a perfect Achilles’ heel. Mian Sahib dexterously used his provincial secret service, already in link with the Islamist groups [Jammat e Islami notably ed.], and succeeded in creating an atmosphere of popular agitation, calling for a legislation declaring the Ahmedis as non-Muslims , just for legal purposes. http://www.pakistanlink.com/Commentary/2006/Dec06/29/03.HTM


3. In 1948, during a drafting session of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, representatives from Saudi Arabia clashed with Pakistan over Articles 19: freedom to change one’s religion. The furious Saudi delegate had to listen to Zafrullah Khan describe the Article as consistent with Islam’s denunciation of compulsion in religion. This Saudi anger (and possibly money) soon found its way into Pakistan’s domestic politics. One year after Zafrullah Khan’s clash with the Saudis at the UN, a new group called Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam issued a demand that Khan be removed from the cabinet, and all Ahmadiyyas be declared non-Muslim. These agitations peaked in 1952 with riots in Punjab, and on May 18 Khan resigned from the Basic Principles Committee. The campaign was then intensified by Maulana Maududi’s Jama’at-i-Islami, which launched a project to declare Ahmadiyyas non-Muslim…… http://www.preventgenocide.org/prevent/news-monitor/2003dec.htm


4. Let’s not create a Frankenstein ....it was in Pakistan that a call was made in 1953 by Maulana Abul Ala Maududi, the founder President of Jamaat-e-Islami, to declare them as non-Muslims. The call emanated more from political expediency than religious fervour. The Ahmadis, although small in number, had a strong position in Pakistan; Lahore had been their stronghold. The foreign minister of Pakistan at the time was Sir Zafarullah Khan, an Ahmadi. So were many top brasses in the bureaucracy and military. Although they were 5% of the population, 20% of the total literate persons were Ahmadi. Maulana Maududi, a refugee from India, had no constituency in Pakistan so he had to create one. The campaign to declare the Ahmadis as ‘non-Muslim’ gave him his chance. Anti-Ahmadiyya riot swept across Pakistani Punjab. Pakistan, created in the name of Islam, was besmirched within six years of its creation with Muslim blood shed by fellow Muslims. Rioting was particularly severe in Lahore that resulted in the imposition of Martial Law in the city. That was also the beginning of the inroad of military in Pakistan politics. http://www.thedailystar.net/suppliments/2005/indp2005/indp03.htm

[edit] Works

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Short Biography of Abulala Maududi

[edit] Further reading

  • Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza. Mawdudi & The Making of Islamic Revivalism. Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Critical

[edit] News articles

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